Philadelphia 76ers and Khalif Wyatt agree to deal

The Philadelphia 76ers made a couple small moves today, signing two guards to their 2013-14 roster. One guard according to reports that they have signed is Darius Morris, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers and is a product of the University of Michigan. The other is former Temple Owl Khalif Wyatt.

It seemed like this move was going to happen this summer and it finally has. Wyatt had a very good career at Temple and it has finally paid off but the road was not easy. Wyatt, first of all, went undrafted in this past summer’s NBA Draft and then he got an invite by the Sixers to play for their summer league team.

With the Sixers’ summer league team, Wyatt played pretty solid basketball in a lot of people’s mind. In five summer league games with the Sixers, Wyatt scored 13.8 points, dished out 1.2 assists, and grabbed 1.2 rebounds per game. Very solid numbers for the 6-foot-4 guard and he did all of this in 19.2 minutes per game.

During the summer league, Wyatt had two great games that showed that he can be a high volume shooter. In the Sixers’ second summer league game against the Indiana Pacers, Wyatt in a losing effort would score 25 points while shooting 11 of 18 from the field, and 50 percent from the three point line. Then in the Sixers’ last game of summer league action versus the Brooklyn Nets, Wyatt would score 27 points, shooting 6 of 9 from the field and making 12 of 14 free throws.

Wyatt’s never give up attitude and willingness to keep on shooting and scoring will make new head coach Brett Brown happy and will definitely garner him some more minutes.

Wyatt actually had the chance to play for the Dallas Mavericks in the Las Vegas Summer League but never got to that point. Obviously, he and the Sixers knew that they had to get him on this roster by any means necessary. As with Darius Morris, Michael Carter-Williams, and Tony Wroten Jr., Khalif Wyatt joins a very crowded, young backcourt, but that only mean good things: there will be a lot of competition and coaching moments.

Can Khalif Wyatt come in and become the Sixers’ starting shooting guard or their sixth man? Yes, possibly a starter but that is a tall tree to climb with Evan Turner occupying that spot and doesn’t seem like he is leaving Philadelphia just yet. But I do think Wyatt can become that sixth man, which Lou Williams turned into for the Sixers when he was in Philly for the early part of his career.

Wyatt has the scoring ability, the mental toughness, and a point to prove, which sounds like perfect ingredients to be a good sixth man.

Wyatt will not be the only Temple Owl on the Sixers roster. He will be reunited with Lavoy Allen, so that can help the transition come along nicely and if somehow Wyatt doesn’t get that much playing time in Philadelphia, he can always play for the 87ers in Delaware, the Sixers’ D-League affiliate.

If he plays for the 87ers, he will dominate down there and will get more minutes, and his former teammate from Temple, Ramone Moore, is on the team so there will be instant chemistry starting off. The plan is now set for Wyatt, he has signed with the Sixers and it’s time for him to make the team. It will be hard, but if he can play well and leave a great impression on Brett Brown, then the sky’s the limit for him.